Helios - Light of The Law
Panther’s Note- This began as a reinterpretation of Lathander, and a writeup of how Lathander is depicted in my setting. However, by the time I got done with this, it basically looked just like Aumanator, and nothing like Lathander. I got a lot of flak when I did this with Pelor, so I decided to just sidestep the issue and call him something completely different. If you’re following my Church of the Light entries, this is basically Lathander.
The link to the collection from where this content is from can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1My8KDN7rBIBTysDVQBroKJaoPb13EGv4
Helios, The Light of Law, The Sun’s Fury, The 3rd Ray.
Classical depictions of Helios show a warrior with white-blonde hair, wearing a white linen shendyt and a solar crown. However, as the Church of Light has evolved, depictions of Helios have moved away from assigning a lowly mortal form to The Light of Law. Modern depictions are allegorical; the symbol of the 3rd ray of the holy sun is most commonly used. Helios' personal symbol is a golden eagle gripping a sheaf of arrows. The especially devout of Helios, who have survived his trial, wear golden masks that depict his face.
Helios is seen as the embodiment of adherence to The Law. His light shines brightest when The Law is adhered to, and when it is administered. He is a patron of civilization and order. Helios does not consider what the spirit or intention of the law is; Helios cares purely about adherence to the Letter of the Law.
As with my other deities of Light, Helios is a son of “He-Who-Was”. Helios holds a bitter hatred for Asmodeus, Dispater and Zariel for the treachery they committed against his father. He thirsts for vengeance against Asmodeus, and looks forward to a time when Pelor will allow him to be unleashed against Asmodeus, and those who have sworn themselves to him.
Righteous Anger, Punishment of the Wicked, Protection of the Weak, Martial Prowess, and Military Strength.
The Law of Helios is a large body of laws and punishments that describe how a righteous individual should behave. Most of Helios' more nuanced laws are not known to everyday folk. The bare bones of Helios' Law should be fairly well-known, and codified as part of the local social mores.
In lands where The Pantheon of Light are the chief deities, Helios' Law forms the basis of the legal system. The basics of Helios' Law can, and should, be tweaked to suit your own setting. However, I wrote the main tenets of Helios with the idea that “The Law” is not unlike The Pentateuch. If you like, you can boil Helios' Law down to something similar to The Ten Commandments.
are long, numerous and collectively known as “The Law”. In lands where The Pantheon of Light are the chief deities, Helios' Law forms the basis of the local legal system. The basics of Helios' Law can, and should, be tweaked to suit your own setting. However, I wrote the main tenets of Helios with the idea that “The Law” is not unlike The Pentateuch. If you like, you can boil Helios' Law down to something similar to The Ten Commandments.
Helios is the Light of The Law, and he permits no secrets where his light shines. Helios' dogma are his tenets.
Helios is a God who inspires great zeal and passion from his adherents. Helios' closest adherents are judges, guards, soldiers and legal inquisitors. A true adherent of Helios will zealously guard The Law, and will not permit anyone to sully their own soul by breaking The Law.
Where a priest of Ilmater or Pelor might counsel a dear friend against petty thievery, and secretly pay back a merchant who was targeted, a priest of Helios would not hesitate to physically prevent their friend from committing any legal indiscretions, or even call a town guard over to arrest their companion. Helios has a zero-tolerance attitude with regard to corruption within the ranks of his faithful. Priests and paladins of Helios are infamous for zeal in enforcing the will of their Lord. On that same turn, law enforcement officials who are familiar with Helios will act with reverence and deference towards a priest or paladin of Helios. Priests and paladins of Helios are simultaneously revered and feared for their strict enforcement of Helios' Law.
As one might imagine, Asmodeus particularly delights in corrupting one of Helios' faithful. The Lord of Baator enjoys watching a good hypocrite fall, and will often personally handle the temptation of a highly-ranked member of Helios' faithful. The rare individuals who withstand Asmodeus’ temptation are recognized and marked by Helios.
Those few among Helios' faithful who have withstood Asmodeus’ temptation are given the title “Archon”. An Archon is a being who is truly incorruptible; they are the physical manifestation of The Law itself, and they are a living avatar of Helios' will. An Archon’s appearance will take on a decidedly celestial flavor; their eyes may shine with divine light, or they may appear to have a faint glow of golden wings upon their back. Helios' Archons do not die; they are considered to have ascended to dwell at Helios' side for all time.
Those who fail temptation from Asmodeus are swiftly, publicly and thoroughly dealt with by Helios, or one of his ascended Archons.
Helios is closely allied with his kin, the other deities of the Church of the Light.
Pelor, Lord of the Sun and Sky - Helios defers leadership of The Church to his elder brother. While Helios is deferential to Pelor’s leadership, he believes that Pelor ought to hold his faithful to the high standard that Helios' own clerics are held to. Helios' priests and paladins will happily enforce Pelor’s tenets alongside Helios' own tenets.
Nuada, Light of the Elves - Helios is Nuada’s great-uncle, as well as the one who trained Nuada in the martial arts. Helios approves of Nuada’s vigilance, as well as Nuada’s philosophy of physical and mental perfection for The Elves. Although Nuada is significantly less rigid than Helios, the two congregations are usually quite able to agree to disagree, and get along well.
Ilmater, The Patient Lord - Ilmater and Helios' faithful often work quite closely together. Ilmater’s priests seek righteousness by bearing the brunt of punishments meant for criminals, and Helios' faithful deal those punishments out. However, Helios holds a special fury for those who would falsely claim the mercy of Ilmater’s priests. Those who have lied in order to convince a priest of Ilmater to take on their punishment can be certain that Helios' burning gaze will fall upon them.
Aurora, Lady of Rainbows - Aurora is the Lady of Rainbows and Beauty, the Spirit of Hope and the Guardian of Children. There is very little overlap between Aurora and Helios' worshippers, except on nights when Aurora is said to ferry the unresting spirits of children away. It is said that Helios and his Archons guard the way for Aurora, and her entourage of restless spirits.
Eldatha, Lady of Healing - Of all the members of the Solar Family, Eldatha and Helios have the most contention between them. Eldatha, being the Lady of Healing and Mercy, does not approve of Helios' uncompromising nature. Helios, in return, dislikes Eldatha’s imperious attitude whenever her doctors and his guards come into conflict with one another. Physicians who have sworn Eldatha’s Oath of Service cannot turn away someone who is in mortal need of healing. However, short of that mortal, dire need, a physician-priest of Eldatha may choose not to treat one who is in service to Helios. In return, the Physician-Priests of Eldatha never seek the aid of those under Helios, or stay at his temples.
Besides his kindred within The Solar Family, Helios considers himself an ally of any and every Lawful Neutral or Lawful Good deity, despite The Church of the Light’s position that only “Flesh of the Light” are suitable for worship. Helios considers himself especially friendly towards Bahamut.
Any and all Chaotic or Evil deities are considered enemies of Helios. However, Asmodeus and his two lieutenants, Zariel and Dispater, are especially his enemies. Helios' heart still burns with hatred for Asmodeus and the treachery that he brought to Helios' father, “He-Who-Was”.
Helios harbors some amount of ill will towards The Seldarine, and especially Corellon Larethian and Orpheus Latonides.
Corellon and Orpheus conspired together to seduce Aurora away from her guardian’s watchful gaze, and ran off with her into the wilds. When Helios caught up with the fleeing elves, Orpheus took the form of Aurora and allowed himself to be captured. By the time Helios discovered the trick, Corellon had already escaped with Aurora. Helios dislikes being reminded how he failed Pelor by allowing Corellon to escape with Aurora, and he dislikes the Elven Gods who played him for a fool. In Helios' mind, the only decent Elven God is his nephew, Nuada Aergethlam.
Helios has a hateful respect for Mephistopheles. Although Helios has an innate hatred for the Lord of Cania, he begrudgingly respects Mephistopheles’ role as a lawyer and a God of Order.
Helios' priests are often inquisitors, mage hunters and legal scholars. They administer The Law without prejudice, mercy or malice. In places that are remote, or far away from a proper courthouse of Helios, a priest may conduct a roadside trial.
Those who administer Helios' Justice are enthusiastic about The Law itself, but it is intended that punishments are meted out without passion or zeal. As one might expect, the clergy of Helios are excessively judgemental with regard to each other. Each member of Helios' clergy must fervently maintain an unclouded judgement. It does not matter who the individual may be, all are to be held accountable to each other for false administration of The Law.
Although Helios is a God who loathes secrecy, he does permit his certain members of his clergy to undergo a trial that strips the individual of their racial and national identity, and marks them as one of Helios' Own. The Trial of The Mask is a a painful, introspective ritual wherein the would-be judge confesses a litany of every “crime” they have ever committed against Helios' Law, and receives divine punishment for each one of these crimes. If the individual fails to confess any crime against Helios' Law, they are summarily executed by an Archon, or Helios himself.
If an individual passes through Helios' Trial, their race, origin, and former identity are washed away. They are granted a new name and racial identity, and a golden mask of Helios' face. The mask is not meant to conceal the identity of the wearer, but rather, to remind the wearer that their previous identity is gone forever. A member of Helios' Own is never to reveal their face, unless dire circumstances demand it.
For DMs, if you have a player who wishes to undergo Helios' Trial, devise a series of Insight, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, Investigation and Arcana checks to see if their character is capable of
If your player succeeds, their race will be replaced with that of a Scourge Aasimar. Their previous racial talents and abilities will be replaced by that which is granted to the Scourge Aasimar. Additionally, grant your player either training or expertise in Insight, and an additional +1 to Wis. To use their Radiant Consumption ability, they must remove their Golden Mask of Helios, which is otherwise NEVER to be taken off. Although not required, the player’s golden mask should become their Holy Symbol.
If you have a player who survives Helios' trial, you may eventually present some temptation from Asmodeus or Mephistopheles. If your player survives this trial to become an Archon, they should gain a passive ability wherein they innately sense when an individual is lying to them. (Up to you to decide how this conflicts with a Rogue Mastermind’s abilities).
Temples of Helios are courthouses. Trials are performed, criminals are punished. Resident judges, lawyers and priests of Helios are permitted sparse rooms in the upper floors of the temples. Lower levels of Helios' temples are dungeons, where criminals await trial. Extensive court records are also kept in the labyrinthine basements. Accommodations for Ilmater’s traveling priests are well maintained, and usually much more comfortable than those afforded to Helios' faithful.
Most temples of Helios will have shrines to the local Archon, or to an Archon that is otherwise strongly identified with the area. Most temples to Helios also contain a large, communal urn where the ashes of martyrs are mixed together. Guards who have fallen in the line of duty, judges who have been assassinated, and Faithful who failed to survive Helios' trial, are all committed to these urns.
The Law does not rest, and The Law holds no holiday. Even during Pelor’s fast, and the subsequent feasting at his return from Baator, Helios' faithful do not celebrate.
It is written that the Champions of The Law are all who uphold it. More specifically though, Helios' main avatars are his Archons, who can be likened to angels, and those who have undergone The Trial of The Mask.
It is widely believed that a masked Cleric or Paladin of Helios can innately sense if a person is lying to them. Although this is not strictly true, it is usually very unwise to lie to a member of Helios' clergy, especially one of his masked judges.
An Archon of Helios might initially appear like one of Helios' Masked, but their higher purpose is usually apparent fairly quickly. Helios deploys his Archons in situations of dire need, or when adherents of Asmodeus dare to show their faces during the daytime.
Heresy within Helios' church is vigorously pursued by certain inquisitors. THere are those who believe it is their sole purpose to travel from courthouse to courthouse, and root out any corruption that may be found. Helios' inquisitors are usually Masked Paladins who are permitted to set aside their masks for the purposes of internal investigation into the actions of a courthouse.
Helios' courthouses maintain extensive collections of records, for the purpose of allowing inquisitor review. Trends in judgements; handing out differing punishments to one class of individual over another, or any other sort impropriety, is mercilessly punished.
The enthusiastic punishment of heresy within Helios' ranks has allowed for an uncommonly united philosophy within his church.
